It may seem as though my entire life is nothing but free time these days, and for anyone who's not retired or on summer break, I'd be hard pressed to argue with you. But in actuality, I probably have the same amount of free time on the road as I do at home and fewer things to do during my free time. I know. Boo hoo for me, right? But it's kinda true. After a day of work I can lay on my couch, watch TV, hang out with friends/family, participate in sports, go to the gym, go see a movie, go to a bar, read, watch my wife organize the house and do chores, etc etc. Now obviously, I can still do some of those things after a day of sightseeing, but Sara and I are on a budget, and for destinations not found in Africa, Asia, and the former Soviet Union, once we pay for lodging and food for the day, there generally isn't much left of the daily budget to go on excursions or go out for a night on the town. That isn't to say we don't occasionally splurge, but as we have made the conscious decision to try and prolong our travels for as close to a year as possible, generally our nights are spent sitting in a hostel common area or dorm bed in a room with 4-8 other people. And while I did actually finish a Jack Reacher novel the other day (first book I've read since Oct 2012), most of my free time is spent thinking. All of this is a long winded way of saying, "Here are some of my thoughts and conclusions made during the trip to date."
